Today the kids and I went to the Massachusetts State House to lobby for passage of the midwifery bill designed to license Certified Professional Midwives and expand birthing options for women. After having an amazing homebirth with A, I feel passionate about providing more birthing choices for women and improving access to midwifery care, so it was great to be able to visit the State House, meet our legislators, and encourage deeper consideration of this bill.
And what an outstanding learning experience for M to see a real-life civics lesson!
We've had 2 kids born with a midwife. Unfortunately, just like correlation does not mean causation, regulation does not mean acceptance. Right now, midwives are able to practice without hindrance with little regulation. Don't ask - don't tell, so to speak. If (when) regulated, not only will that raise the cost of the services (think educational standards, licensing, exams, bureaucracy), but it will probably be a step towards having powerful concerns try to stamp out competition by getting involved in the regulating process, etc. Right now, market forces allow only the best midwives to survive. If regulated, any mis-step by one could lead to punitive action against all. The formula is actually like this: regulation could eventually lead to a ban. Looking at it this way, I wouldn't be so happy about this bill.
ReplyDeleteKon, thank you for your thoughtful comment. It sounds like at least we agree on the importance of expanding women's access to midwifery care. I really appreciate your perspective on this bill. - Kerry
ReplyDeleteI was curious about the good points Kon makes, so I asked my homebirth midwife for her response. Here it is:
ReplyDelete"It's true that regulation will mean being regulated and there are negatives including some of the points brought up. On the other hand, there are 26 states that recognize CPMs and increasing. It is the national trend. In states where out-of-hospital midwives are regulated, the out of hospital birth rate goes up, so more access to care. Here are some other reasons for CPM licensure:
http://www.thebigpushformidwives.org/_ccLib/attachments/pages/Benefits+of+CPM+Licensure.pdf
Regulation actually protects midwives. If a midwife has a bad outcome, without licensure, she could be persecuted for practicing "medicine" without a license, and with licensure, we would be judged by our peers."